Krew’s magic flared along his jawbone.“What?”
I reached out to turn Krew’s face toward me. “I deserved it, really. Shortly after, I kicked him in the chest.”
Krew looked at me and then back at Owen, his magic flaring in his wrists as he pinched his nose. “You two and your training.”
“Is there a problem?” Owen asked. “I know you don’t want me to hurt her, but very rarely do I nick her skin at all.”
Krew tipped his head back to the ceiling and stood only to begin pacing. And if he was pacing then he was far more pissed than he let on.
“You apparently healed part of a tree today,” Krew stated.
“I did,” I admitted, feeling like Owen and I were about to get a scolding and I had no idea why.
“My father’s men found it today,” he continued. “Because they scan the forest every day now for more improvements.”
If they found the spot from today, they must have scanned quite the area because it was in the new site, not anywhere near the lake.
“At this point, doing any training at all in that forest seems reckless. At some point they will find out.”
I stole a glance at Owen and quieted.
“Yet the wolves are running protection for you and the forest keeps healing. So how can I be the fool who asks you to stay away from the forest?” He ran a hand down his face. “Everything in me says that I should demand the two of you stop healing so much as a blade of grass in the forest, but I know that to do so will only hurt Jorah.”
He wasn’t just bothered, it was that he was being torn in two different directions andthatwas why he was pissed. Not necessarily at us, but because he was put in a position where to do the right thing, I would be hurt. But if he allowed us to continue on, I could still get hurt, this time from his father. His father would find out I had magic and there would be hell to pay.
I let out a sigh. “Well as for today, you should tell him that I got hurt over by that tree, because it is not far from the truth. And I have learned from the best in that to tell a spectacular lie, you need to have it run as close to the truth as possible. The scratch on my arm should only help prove that story to be accurate.”
Krew stopped and crossed his arms. “Tell me what to do, love. I want to tell you to stop healing the forest. To protect both you and your magic.” He paused. “But now Father almost expects something to be healed weekly.”
“So we do both,” Owen offered. “We will cut back to a few mornings a week training in the forest, allowing Jorah to heal only the bare minimum. The rest of the time we can practice in the castle.”
I closed my eyes, feeling frustrated. What was the point of all this power if I couldn’t use it to help? “He’s going to find out eventually, you know,” I offered at a whisper.
“I know.”
I opened my eyes, blinking fast. “I almost wish it’d just happen already. So I can use this power for the one thing I enjoy using it for.”
“The Assemblages are supposed to run until summer,” Krew offered. “We are months away from the public wedding, which will be required.”
My eyes went wide. “You wish for me to stay out of the forest formonths?!”
“No.” He shook his head. “That is not what I wish. But you may have to stop healing the forest for a while.”
I looked at Owen. “I don’t know if that is possible.”
Krew was looking at me with concern etched all over his face. “Why?”
I gave him a shrug. “The night I used my magic to make the dome, after I saw you and Renna, I had a fleeting thought about how cold I was. But my magic knew I was cold and knew I wanted to be warmed. Likewise, today, I didn’t will my rope to heal the tree, only that I didn’t want toharmit, but my magic seems to understand how badly I want the forest healed. Both of those times I didn’t actively will it to happen in the moment, though they were both things I did want.”
Krew rubbed his hand over his lips. “It’s your will. Your magic is reacting to your will. It feeds off it in a sense.”
I gave him a winced smile. “Well, if you want me to stop healing the forest, you are going to have to keep me from using magic in it at all.”
“There has to be some sort of balance we can find,” Owen offered. “Jorah can’t just keep being the one to give up everything in order to keep her safe.”
“I know that,” Krew snapped.
“So I have this power. I finally have a way to fix the forest, and I am just supposed to sit here and do nothing?” It had already been more than a week since the last time I had tried to fix the lake and I felt awful about it.
